, updated
Britain has sent a delegation of senior diplomats to Syria for talks with the rebels who brought down Bashar al-Assad’s regime, David Lammy said last night.
The Foreign Secretary said the team will tell leaders of the paramilitary group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that the UK wants to see chemical weapons stockpiles secured.
They will also urge them to allow for an ‘inclusive transitional political process that is Syrian-led and Syrian-owned’, he added.
HTS spearheaded the overthrowing of the Syrian president this month and there was confusion about whether Britain can and should have meaningful contact with it while it remains a banned terrorist organisation.
It was once an affiliate of Al Qaeda but the group’s insurgent leaders claim it has broken with its extremist past. However, it remains banned in the UK and ministers have not said if they will lift this.
On Sunday night, Mr Lammy said that …